5 Professional Dynamics That Shape Us… #2: BALANCE

March 15, 2013

The second of FIVE FORMATIVE PROFESSIONAL DYNAMICS (see my earlier post for #1) is a person’s DISPOSITION FOR STAYING BALANCED. How we behave in particularly stressful circumstances is a window into the core of our professionalism. We are tested when we feel that much around is out of balance or when we are the target of a person who is, themselves, out of balance. In such circumstances, I believe two things are true:

An effective professional service representative has learned to not take things personally.

When our ego goes up, our professionalism usually goes down.

Keeping ego out of it, developing a reflex to “not take it personally,” is not an invitation to just take the abuse; it is an invitation to rise above it. That is professionalism. And from that place of professional balance, a person can invite others to rise above their imbalance, too. That is a professional opportunity! It’s a specific skill participants learn in many of our employee development programs and customer service training.

When I played sports, I often heard people say, “Sports builds character.” I remember thinking as I observed others and myself, “Sports don’t seem to build character as much as expose the character that’s already there.”

Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert or Jay Leno must have “off days.” But have you ever seen evidence of those “off days” in their professional balance? Time after time their consistency has made them hallmarks in their professions. I suspect they have a disposition for staying balanced.